New Friend on the Block
by danielsamuels128
Summary: Set between Friends of Heartlake City episodes "Change of Address" and "Dive In", a new kid comes to town and gets bullied on her first day of school? Who's the one doing the bullying?
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: 200%;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" Was there ever a time where you saw a new student in your school? Was the new student nice? Did you know what background the new student was coming from? You may not be alone in cases like that. In my school, we had a bunch of new students come in. The same type of thing happens at this center I go to on Saturdays. This story takes place between strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;""Change of Address"/strong and strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;""Dive In"/strong. A new kid comes to town and does not have a very good first day. Someone won't stop messing with her feelings and a few other residents of the town want to put an end to it. Who is this new kid and who's the one behind the bullying?/span/p 


	2. Chapter 2 - Meet Tao Huang

It all starts one Sunday evening in Heart-lake City. In one of the old houses no one lives in anymore, one family has settled in. It was a 15-year old girl named Tao Huang. Her mom, Tamyah Huang, and her Aunt Thanh were inside one of the houses. They had just finished putting it together about an hour ago. They were really enjoying it.

"I like this place" Tamyah said to her sister and her daughter.

"Me too" Thanh commented. "I just feel sorry Tao's dad and older sister won't be able to see it. We really did a fine job."

Tao walked in and said hi.

"Hey Tao" Thanh said to her. "How are you liking this so far?"

"It's cool" Tao responded. "It's just I'm gonna be starting my time at a new school tomorrow. I'm really nervous."

"I heard" Tamyah replied. "It's bad enough I have trouble sleeping from time to time after splitting apart from Tao's dad. I don't want anything super horrible to happen to our little sugar."

Thanh thought for a moment before getting an idea in her head. By the time it was 8:45, the 3 of them were all in their pajamas.

"Brilliant idea" Tao said.

"I agree" Tamyah commented. "Sleeping together will surely take our worries off our minds. Goodnight ladies".

The other 2 said goodnight to her before falling asleep.

The next morning, the Huang family was enjoying a lovely pancake breakfast.

"So" Tamyah started saying. "You got everything you need for school?"

"Yeah" Tao said. She then used Chinese to tell her mom and aunt "I got my backpack, notebooks, some pencils and my acoustic guitar. It might go well despite the anxiety."

Thanh responded "you'll be alright. Besides, all this coping with being mentally disabled runs in the family. Your mom and I got Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after going through with that divorce, and your sister's trying to deal with her depression."

"At least someone knows what I'm going through in life" Tao said. "Where is she anyway?"

Tamyah answered "remember? Your sister goes to college on the coast of North Carolina. She's not going to be back for a while."

"Oh" Tao Huang said. "I did forget about that."

Thanh came over. "Hey. Is my little niece ready for her first day of school in Heartlake City?"

"I guess" Tao answered. "I just hope my social anxiety doesn't turn into a problem. This is the 5th school I had to go to since starting my days in junior high school."

Tamyah reminded her that she's gotten older.

"That is true" Tao commented. "I can always play my guitar whenever I don't feel right. Maybe that'll help me get through my first day."

"That's the spirit" Tamyah said. Both she and Thanh gave Tao a hug to remember.

At Heartlake High School, Tao found her locker.

However, as she was putting her stuff in there, one of the students at that school said "hey look. It's the newbie with a bad taste in music".

That made everyone start laughing. Tao got really scared. Because of her social anxiety disorder, she had trouble speaking up about her feelings. She couldn't get her voice loud enough o ask them to stop.

"Hey" a familiar voice said. "Do you think it's funny? That poor little kid. You guys know better".

Most of the background students walked off.

The one who stood up for Tao came over.

"You okay?" that voice asked.

"I'm still shaken up" Tao said. "My name's Tao."

"I'm Nate" he responded back. "You're new here?"

Tao nodded. "No one's ever stood up for me like that before. In fact, I don't think anyone stood up to those who bullied me before at all."

"You poor thing" Nate commented. "No way they can push you around like that. If this happens again, come find me."

Tao nodded. Nate then walked off.

He thought to himself "boy. Tao sure is a quiet one. There's got to be a way to find the one responsible for the bullying."

He then continued on to his first class.


	3. Chapter 3 - What is Social Anxiety?

With one period to go before lunch, Tao drew a picture of herself playing guitar on the beach.

Just as she was about to put it up on the wall, one of the background students asked "you made that?"

"Yeah" Tao answered.

That student laughed before saying "hey people, this girl, aka the newbie with a bad taste in music, has a bad taste in art too."

Tao got laughed at again. She couldn't find a way to speak up about her feelings, so she ran off to the girls' bathroom.

In the bathroom, she quietly thought to herself "why did I come here? I'm just too shy to say anything."

Another girl came out of one of the stalls.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Who are you?" Tao responded.

"I'm Nicole" the girl answered.

"I'm Tao" she replied.

"Why are you crying in the corner, Tao?" Nicole asked.

Tao answered "some kids made fun of a picture I made and I'm too afraid to say how it makes me feel."

Nicole gave Tao a hug to show how sorry she felt for her.

"You know" she started. "You aren't the only victim. Someone has been sending mean things about Livi for a few days now".

"What's a Livi?" Tao asked.

Nicole answered "some music start Heartlake City goes gaga over. You should ask your parents if you can pay her a visit."

"I guess" Tao answered. "By the way, my parents are split up, but it's no big deal."

"Really?" Nicole commented. "My parents are split up too".

"I'm so sorry" Tao said.

"It's alright" Nicole commented. "I have to go".

The 2 girls waved goodbye.

"Man, that's one quiet girl" Nicole thought.

At lunch, Tao chose to sit alone. She thought it would lower the chance of her getting bullied again. There was no way she could get her feelings hurt 3 times before 6th period. Nicole and Nate met up with one another.

After saying hi to each other, Nicole said to Nate "did you hear about the new kid, Tao?"

"Yeah" Nate answered. "She sure is a quiet one. Some students were picking on her in the hallway."

"I ain't surprised" Nicole commented. "I saw her in the bathroom crying because someone made everyone in the art class laugh at a drawing she made. First Livi, now Tao. There's gotta be a way to get to the bottom of this".

"No kidding" Nate said. "There's Tao over there. Let's go see if she's okay."

Nate and Nicole came over to her. Tao hid under the table.

"You don't have to hide from us" Nate said.

"Oh" Tao said. "It's just you 2".

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay" Nicole responded.

"I'm fine" Tao said. "It's just my social anxiety disorder."

"What's that?" Nate asked.

Tao answered "a common type of anxiety disorder. A person with social anxiety disorder feels symptoms of anxiety or fear in certain or all social situations, such as meeting new people, dating, being on a job interview, answering a question in class, or having to talk to a cashier in a store. Doing everyday things in front of people—such as eating or drinking in front of others or using a public restroom—also causes anxiety or fear. The person is afraid that he or she will be humiliated, judged, and rejected."

Here are examples of symptoms that go along with it.

Worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself

Intense fear of interacting or talking with strangers

Avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment

Enduring a social situation with intense fear or anxiety

Blushing

Fast heartbeat

Upset stomach or nausea

Feeling that your mind has gone blank

Neither of those 2 could believe what she said.

"I know" Tao responded. "I got so worried that I just went blank and had no idea what to say."

"This has happened to you before?" Nicole asked.

"It has" Tao answered. "Social anxiety is one of the most common disorders in America. Over 3 million people have it, but out of all of those 3 million, not even 100,000 would go do something about it. It gets stuck with you for years, if not, for life. My first experience was when I was in the 2nd grade."

Enter Flashback.

"I was walking up to say hi to another kid when I started feeling my heartbeat faster than before. That kid asked if I was alright, but I just went blank. I didn't know what to say. I tried again at lunch, but this time, I noticed I was blushing in front of the whole cafeteria. Some of my friends called me poor baby blushy for it. I told my mom when I got home and she took me to a doctor. That's how I ended up with social anxiety disorder."

Exit Flashback.

"It was nothing harmful" Tao said. "It's just that my mind will forever have a hard time adjusting to certain things".

She thought that it would be nothing thanks to her mom and aunt Thanh.

Nate and Nicole still felt bad for her and wanted to apologize for what she had to put up with.

"It's alright" Tao commented. "Coping with mental disorders has been a family tradition for me."

"Your whole family is full of mental disorders?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah" Tao answered. "But, you won't be able to see all of them now. My parents are split up, but that's like one thing I don't worry about much. My sister's away at college studying to be a journalist while trying to cope with depression."

"Oh yeah" Nicole said. "My parents are split up too, but I don't worry about it that much either".

"Sounds like your family's going through some tough times" Nate responded.

"Maybe" Tao commented. "But we're gonna get through."

Nate and Nicole understood what Tao was saying to them.


	4. Chapter 4 - Answer to Who's the Bully

Later that day, school had ended for the day. Nate and Nicole met up with each other.

"I'm still worried about Tao" Nicole said. "I haven't seen her since lunch".

"I heard" Nate answered. "I got bigger problems, though. My friend, Matthew, texted me. He said a note talking about why his music stinks as much as Tao's is why he's thinking about dropping out of his own band."

"What?" Nicole asked. "Matthew's a star member. No way that band can perform without him."

"I agree" Nate said. "This bullying has got to end before more people's feelings get hurt. I better go find Matthew and make sure he's okay."

"Alright" Nicole responded. "I'm gonna go find Tao before this bullying hurts her even more. See you tomorrow, Nate".

"By Nicole" Nate said.

By the bathrooms, Nate ran into his crush, Stephanie. "Oh" Nate said. "Hey Stephanie".

"Hi Nate" Stephanie said. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Matthew?" Nate asked. "Someone just hurt his feelings and I just wanna make sure he's alright."

Stephanie answered "he did say he was gonna go to do homework with Emma. Did you know those 2 have a thing for each other?"

"That's great" Nate said. "See you Stephanie".

Stephanie wanted to know what has gotten into Nate.

That was when Nicole came over.

After saying hi to each other, Nicole asked "have you seen Tao?"

"What's a Tao?" Stephanie asked.

Nicole answered "the new kid in school. She got bullied twice and I just wanna make sure she's okay."

Stephanie answered "well, I did see a shy girl with a guitar saying she was gong to go get an after-school snack."

"Thanks Stephanie" Nicole said before taking off.

"What be going on when I'm not in the zone?" she asked. She really wanted to know.

At Emma's house, Matthew was doing homework with her. "You are one cute girl" he said.

"Thanks" Emma said. "You're quite handsome yourself".

Matthew couldn't help but blush. The blushing quickly disappeared when a knock was heard. Matthew went to open the door.

"Oh" he said. "Hey Nate".

"Hey Matthew" Nate responded. "Hi Emma".

"Hey Nate" Emma said. "What's the 411 with you?"

Nate answered "someone's bullying our friends".

Emma was shocked. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Nate's trying to find out" Matthew said. "I got a message saying my music stinks as much as Tao's".

"Who's Tao?" Emma asked.

"The new kid at school" Nate answered. "She's a real quiet one."

"Where is she now?" Emma asked.

"Nicole's looking for her" Nate answered.

At the cupcake café, Nicole spotted Tao. "Hey Tao" she said.

"Hey Nicole" Tao said back. "What are you doing here?"

Nicole answered "I haven't seen you since lunch. Did you get bullied again?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if she said yes" another familiar voice said.

"Hey girl" Nicole said. "Tao, this Naomi. She works here. Naomi, this is Tao. She's the new kid on the block".

Tao hid behind Nicole.

"She's shy" Nicole answered.

"Super shy" Tao commented.

"I can see that" Naomi responded. "Reminds me of my first day here. I was a little anxious myself.

"Really?" Nicole asked. "Did you think you was going to leave?"

Naomi answered "you know it, but after touring the place, I really got to enjoy this town. I even got a job at this café".

"Oh yeah" Nicole said. "I first saw you on your way home from school."

"I remember that day" Naomi commented. "You even let me stay the whole weekend at your house."

"Sounds like you 2 became great friends" Tao replied.

"Hey. Does anyone know how all this bullying started? My social anxiety disorder is why I can't speak up about it."

Naomi answered "that was Megan."

"What's a Megan?" Tao asked.

"My cousin" Naomi answered. "I still can't believe she's doing it to get revenge for when Livi fired her. Look, she's even saying don't go to Livi's concert tonight because no one wants her around. People are taking this stuff seriously".

"Ouch" Tao replied. "You think Livi will be okay?"

"I don't know" Naomi answered. "I never got to see Livi perform before. Now, it looks like I might never will."

"Not with that attitude" Nicole said.

"What are you going to do?" Tao asked.

"You'll be by tomorrow night" Nicole answered.

What do you think she is going to do?


	5. Chapter 5 - Divorced Parents

Back at Tao's house, her family came and opened the door.

"Hi" Nicole said. "You must be Tao's mom?"

"I'm her aunt" Thanh replied.

Tao responded. "This is Nicole. She goes to school in this town."

"I can see that" Thanh replied. "Come on in. "Your mom won't be back until later tonight. She has a busy job".

"I'm not surprised" Tao said. "She's always trying to make that extra handful of money."

All 3 ladies giggled a little.

"I see you and Nicole became friends" Thanh said.

"We sure are Ms. Thanh" Nicole commented.

She then gave a little sigh before telling Aunt Thanh, "you know, I can kind of relate to where Tao's coming from. She told me her parents are split up. My parents are split up too, but I don't worry about it much. What caused Tao's parents to split up?"

Aunt Thanh answered "well, since neither of Tao's parents are here, allow me to tell the story of what happened."

With that, she dove right into the story.

Enter Flashback.

"After the doctor first diagnosed Tao with Social Anxiety Disorder it's been hard for her to speak up. On the other hand, it's been harder for her sister, Tamera. She used to get bullied a lot when she was in Elementary school. Some of the kids made fun of the beautiful bows she would wear on her head. Few of those kids even called her baby bow head, which really upset her. She tried to tell the teachers, but only one would step up and help put a stop to it."

"Isn't it good that at least someone stood up to those bullies?" Nicole asked. "That's something I would've done for Tamera".

"I don't think the story is over yet, Nicole" Tao said.

"She's right" Aunt Thanh said. "It gets worse from here. Not even a whole month into high school, some of the other 9th grade students splattered her with spaghetti and pasta sauce and took pictures of her. The whole cafeteria was laughing. She was diagnosed with depression a few days later. We wanted to find a new place to live when she finished high school, but Tao's dad refused to help. It led to an argument, which caused them to split up. I witnessed the whole thing. Knowing it was Tao's dad to blame for why we couldn't find any therapists for those 2. Your mom and I got post traumatic stress disorder a few days after that, and we never heard from him again".

Exit Flashback.

"Now, Tamera's a sophomore in a North Carolina college studying to be a journalist while putting up with her depression."

"It's still gonna be a long time before I can see her again, though" Tao commented.

Nicole hugged both ladies to show how sorry she felt for them.

Tao told her it was okay.

Aunt Thanh replied "and that's why coping with mental disorders run in the family. Well, at least from this family's point of view."

"I see" Nicole said.

"Hey" Tao commented. "Didn't you tell me your parents are split up too?"

Aunt Thanh was shocked. "Really?" she asked. "Now I see why you must have picked her to be friends with you. She really does know what it's like to have divorced parents."

"She didn't pick me over divorced parents" Nicole commented. "I became friends with her because some of the students wouldn't stop making fun of her. I see her hiding in the girls' bathroom and asked if she was okay. I understand why she has trouble speaking up about her feelings, but she didn't tell me her parents were divorced like mine until just now when you told the story. You told me the story of why Tao's parents got divorced. I think it's time I told you the story of why my parents got divorced."

Let the flashback begin.

She began telling her story.

"I really like getting outside and getting into nature. I even told my own mom and dad that one day, I hope to be an environmentalist and help keep the earth clean. I have a really close friend. Her name's Olivia. We used to have so much fun camping together. One time, we even brought our own fathers along. From surfing to bike riding to just sitting around the campfire. It was a blast."

Tao asked why her mom didn't come.

Nicole answered "she's not really a fan of the outdoors. Later in life, when I turned 12, my own mom had to move to the Carolina coast for her new job. She wanted me to go with her, but my dad wanted me to stay with him. My mom kept persuading me to choose to go with her, but for some reason, I didn't feel as close to her as my dad. I chose to stay with him, but my mom got really angry. Both of my parents didn't want anything to do with each other ever again, so they filed for a divorce, which I watched get passed on. The next day, I tried to give my mom a goodbye hug, but she just slapped me in the face and left. I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a few days later. It's just been a rocky road ever since that tragic day."

Exit Flashback.

"I still have Olivia as a close friend. I wish I can see her again."

Tao hugged Nicole to show how sorry she was. Nicole forgave Tao's apology.

"You know" Thanh said. "I want you to really experience what Heartlake City has to offer. Go, go spend the night with Nicole. I'll let your mom know".

Tao thanked her aunt by hugging her.

"You are going to love being in this city" Nicole said to Tao.

"I can hardly wait" Tao commented. "Let me go grab a few things and we can get going."

It was alright with both Aunt Thanh and Nicole.


	6. Chapter 6 - Enter Livi and the Sleepover

Later that evening, around 6:45pm, Nicole and Tao arrived at the Concert Hall where Livi was supposed to go on at 8:00 sharp. Livi was playing notes on her piano. She was in a real depression. You think she should be happy for her music, but tonight, she was not happy at all. Nicole and Tao came over.

"Hey Livi" Nicole said.

"Hey Nicole" Livi said back. "Who's that with you?"

Nicole answered "this is Tao. Tao, meet Livi".

After shaking hands, Tao responded "wow. I can't believe I'm meeting you. Sorry all this bullying costed you your concert tonight."

"It's alright" Livi said. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I would be ready to perform myself."

"That's rough" Nicole said. "But not to worry. It'll be over soon."

"Yeah" Tao said. "Naomi told us that rude girl, Megan, is the one behind the bullying. She said it was to get revenge for when you fired her."

Livi commented "she stole a song I wrote to play with my friends. It was awful."

She then sat back down before saying "but it wasn't the first time someone left me depressed for more than a few hours."

She decided to tell those 2 a story of when she was bullied.

Enter Flashback.

"Back when I was in the 5th grade, I got my first microphone. There was a school talent show happening when I got it, so I signed up.

One of the other students came up to me and said 'you? Yeah right. What talents do you have crybaby blossom?'

Everyone laughed at me. I didn't have much friends back then. When I returned home, I would sing a few songs to feel better. It gets worse from there. I tried again in the 7th grade. There was this girl named Aisha. She saw my microphone and asked if I can go on stage with her. I felt really proud of our performance, but a few students kept laughing and calling us names. I still couldn't believe they called me a singing loser. I fell into a depression that I wanted to last for life, but my mom and dad told me to keep trying. I got better and more people started respecting me. As much as I love being the music star I am today, I miss Aisha. We used to do a lot of fun normal girl things."

Exit Flashback.

"I still love my music though. Here's one of the songs I wrote".

She then started playing her song "In This Together".

Tao got out her guitar and jammed along. Nicole couldn't help but dance to the beat as well.

Livi couldn't believe those 2 girls. "Wow" she said. "I didn't know you could play that good".

"I love my guitar. I play a little while whenever I'm feeling sad."

"You're not from here, are you?" Livi asked.

"Nope" Nicole answered. "She's new in town. Your real name is crybaby blossom?"

"It was just a nickname I hated" Livi answered. "The real name is Moonbeam Blossom".

Nicole and Tao understood what Livi was saying.

A familiar voice came over.

"Nicole?" the voice asked. Nicole turned to see who it was, and to her surprise, it was her close friend- Olivia. After saying hi, Nicole hugged her.

"What brings you here?" Olivia asked.

Nicole answered, "this is Tao. She's the new girl in school. Tao, this is Mia, Olivia, Emma, Andrea and Stephanie."

Tao shook their hands despite the nervous heartbeat.

"She tends to get nervous" Nicole answered.

"So" Emma started. "Did you find the one who's been bullying Livi and Tao yet?"

4 of the other girls were shocked.

"You got bullied again?" Andrea asked.

Livi, Nicole and Tao nodded.

"But it'll be over soon" Nicole said. "Naomi told us her cousin, Megan, did it for revenge for when Livi fired her."

"She stole one of our songs" Andrea said.

"We know" Nicole said. "It's getting late. No way I'm going after her tonight. You want me to show you my house, Tao?"

Tao responded "if I say yes, can Livi come too?"

She then told the others "as much as she loves her music, she still misses the things normal girls like you 5 do."

Stephanie responded "I have a better idea."

Over at Stephanie's house, the girls were in their pajamas.

"You were right Stephanie" Nicole said to her. "A sleepover at your house is a great idea."

"You better believe it is" Stephanie said. "I even set up my whole bedroom for it."

While Andrea was checking the status on her music blog, Livi, Nicole and Tao took a selfie that got #Photo Bombed by Livi's puppy, Cookie. It was pretty funny.

"So Livi" Emma started. "You used to have a friend named Aisha?"

"I did" Livi answered. "She was the reason why I would stop to enjoy a fresh garden or even play in the skate park. I still miss her. I just wish I can do things girls like you would do."

"You still can" Mia said. "In fact, tomorrow, we're gonna show you all he things you can do in town. Nicole, you and Tao should come to."

"That's great" Nicole said. "Maybe Tao can show me more of her guitar skills".

"Hang on" Olivia said. "You play guitar?"

"Yeah" Tao answered. "It's a coping method I use."

She decided to show them. The girls were in amazement.

"That was awesome" Mia said.

"Thanks" Tao said.

The doorbell then rang.

"Pizza's here" Stephanie said.

They all went downstairs to get it. Around 11:47pm, Tao was downstairs in the kitchen. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened at school earlier.

"Tao?" Nicole asked.

She came into the room wondering what Tao was doing up so late.

"I'm having a rough first time here. What happened earlier really hit close to home. I don't think my heart got so upset before."

Nicole hugged Tao as her way of apologizing. "It's gonna be okay Tao. You just stick with me. We're gonna get through this."

She then sang a slow jam about sticking with the ones you love.

When the song ended, Tao said to Nicole "thanks. Knowing you'll be by my side, I'm starting to feel better. Maybe there is still hope out there."

"That's the spirit" Nicole said before hugging Tao again. The 2 girls then returned to bed.


	7. Chapter 7 - Livi's Day With the Gals

The next morning, the girls were getting ready to go out the door.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," Livi said to the other girls. "I never got a chance to have fun the way normal girls do in a while."

"Trust us," Stephanie said to her. "You are going to love it."

Tao then said to the girls, "wait a second. Shouldn't most of us be on our way to school soon?"

Livi answered, "Tao's right. I don't want it to be my fault you gals are late for school. Maybe we can do this another time. You girls have school, I got my music career. What does it take to get some free time in Heartlake City these days?"

Mia then suggested, "You know what Livi, I have another idea. You can come to school with us for the day, but first, you need a new look. It has to be something more casual than the dresses you wear."

Livi then commented, "okay, but on one condition."

She then paused before asking, "can I pick the colors I want to wear?"

The following clothes Livi picked were in shades of red. They were a pink skirt over maroon jeans, purple layered tank tops, a purple hoodie and pink sneakers.

When Livi was finished putting those clothes on, she asked, "well? What do you think?"

The other girls couldn't believe what Livi had on. She looked somewhat like a city girl from the 2000's.

Andrea went out of the left field and answered, "that sure is a new look. If that was me, I'd try to blend in as one of the guys."

"Really?" Livi asked.

"You're the most styling guys I have ever seen," Tao commented.

Livi then said to the other girls, "let's go. I don't want it to be my fault you're all late for school."

Stephanie checked the time on her phone. "It's only 7:55. We still have a bit of time."

The girls strolled off to school.

While walking down the street, Emma asked "how do you think we're gonna catch Megan and bust her for bullying Livi and Tao?"

Nicole answered "well, I'm thinking we get someone to go down to Megan's home and try bullying her. If we can get Megan to see how uncool bullying is, she might stop doing it to us."

"You're good," Tao said.

She then saw a row of flowers on the corner of the block.

After smelling them, she said to the others, "I don't know what smells sweeter, you girls or these flowers. What do you think?"

The others stopped to smell them.

"They do smell sweet," Emma said. "Don't some girls wear them in their hair?"

"They do," Nicole said.

She paid for some. Everyone got to wear a different flower in their hair.

"We look good," Olivia said to them.

"You know it," Livi said. "I'm liking his day already."

The girls continued on their way to school.

At Heartlake High, Livi said to the other girls, "has this school changed since the last time I came into this building? It sure has been a while."

"We know," Emma said.

One of the kids that was bullying Tao yesterday came over and said, "hey Tao. I see you found someone to join your club of losers."

That student then busted out laughing. Tao hid behind Nicole.

She then said to all the girls, "I'm sorry. It's my social anxiety disorder. I'm too afraid to do this on my own."

"We got this," Nicole said. "Excuse me."

"Do you actually think this is funny?" Stephanie asked. "This is the same problem my friends and I heard about yesterday. How would you feel if someone did that to you?"

Emma then suggested, "if you're gonna continue your bullying, we know someone who we think deserves it more."

After giving that student the address, that student said, "thanks," before taking off.

As he walked away, his final words to them were, "later losers."

"We heard that," 5 of the girls said together at one time.

Tao asked if this is going to work. The others believed it would. They then decided to show Livi what fun things there are to do.

What follows is a montage of fun things Livi got to do with Tao, Nicole and their friends. Throughout the montage, L2M's "Living for the Rhythm" played. In art class, Emma and Livi were making a picture together.

"Tao and Nicole are gonna be so glad we added them to this picture," Livi said.

"A picture of all of us jamming on stage together?" Emma asked. "I think all of our friends would like it."

In music class, all 9 of them were jamming out together for the fun of it.

"Rock it, Emma," Mia said to her.

"Yeah Tao," Nicole said to her. "Go on girl."

They were the time of their lives. Then, in their final period before lunch, the girls were planting fruit and sunflower seeds.

"My favorite activity," Livi said. "The school is going to love this garden."

The others agreed with what she said.

At lunch, Livi said to the girls, "thanks for teaching me so much about what normal girls like you do. I've never had this much fun before."

"No problem," Stephanie said. "But there'll be more to it after school. By the way, what are we gonna do about the bullying here at school?"

Nicole commented, "Stephanie's right. Even if Megan stops bullying us, the kids here at school might not. Too bad you can't do some fundraising concert. That way, we get enough money to hire a new school counselor who can help with problems like this."

Just then, Andrea got a realization.

"That's not a bad idea, Nicole" Andrea said.

"I agree," Mia commented. "No wait. Let's do it. I can send out invitations."

Andrea added, "Livi and I can write a new song about why we think this bullying needs to stop."

Tao suggested, "Emma and I can make posters."

Stephanie added, "and I'll make refreshments before the concert."

Nicole added, "and we can have it this Friday night."

All of the girls were on board with that plan. They decided to get started after their after-school ice cream break. It was going to be a night to remember. Around 3:30pm, the girls were munching down on ice cream.

"I love this," Livi said. "I'm so glad we didn't cancel this plan."

"Us too," Emma said. "I wonder how that dude is doing with the directions we gave him."

They all hoped he was following them.


	8. Chapter 8 - Mama Jokes and Music Preps

Over at Megan's house, Megan said to herself, "well little Megs, you've truly outdone yourself girl. Now, everyone thinks Livi is a sorry player no one ever wants to be around at all. That is what she gets for having me fired. If this doesn't make Livi get the memo of this lesson, I hope it can drive her to the point of quitting her music career".

That was when she heard a knock at the door. She went to go see who it was. When she opened it, she saw that it was the kid who was bullying Tao at school.

"Hello," Megan said. "I'm Megan."

"Nice to meet you," the kid said. "My name's Joseph."

"Okay then, Joseph," Megan said. "Come on in."

Joseph stepped inside.

"Nice crib you got here, Megan" Joseph complimented her.

"Thanks," Megan said to him. "I do the best to make it so that when I have to do hospitality, I'm number one."

"Sure you are", Joseph said. "You are all that in hospitality, but annoyingly stuck up when it comes to friendship."

Megan asked what Joseph was talking about.

He answered, "I'm talking about you and Livi?"

"What about Livi?" Megan asked. "The fact that I bullied everyone into thinking Livi's the worst performer ever?"

"Yes," Joseph said. "Even though that's my job, you're a song stealer that's so stuck up, your fingers need to make an appointment to scratch your head."

Megan then responded, "really? Well, you are so stuck up, it's no wonder why they always whine and cry when you are taking their money."

"Your mama," Joseph said.

"Mama?" Megan asked. "What about my mama?"

Joseph answered, "Yo momma so dumb she sold her car to get gasoline money!"

Megan got a shocked look on her face.

"Oh really?" she commented. "Well, Yo momma so fat you have to grease the door frame and hold a twinkie on the other side just to get her through."

Joseph then replied, "yo momma so fat they had to pull her over because the weight limit was 2 tons."

Megan commented, "well Yo momma so dumb, they had to burn down the school to get her out of second grade."

Joseph then said, "you're right. I'm sorry. I know better than to talk about your momma like that, having such an ugly child if you know what I mean."

Megan knew Joseph was messing with her this time, and she had to ask something about it.

With that, she asked, "say what Joseph?"

Joseph answered, "You're so ugly, when you were born the doctor took one look at you and slapped your parents."

Megan responded, "is that so? Well, You're so ugly, you stuck your head out of the car window and got arrested for mooning."

Joseph then said, "You're so ugly, I took you to see the zookeeper and he said, "Thanks for bringing him back."

Megan responded, "You're so ugly, they call you Taco Bell - when people see you they run for the border."

Joseph then said, "you so ugly, that ain't a fad I'm looking at, that's your hair running away from your face."

Megan then commented, "that's it! You want me to admit I'm the bully responsible? Fine! I'll make sure the whole world knows!"

With that, she walked off to get the word out.

Later that afternoon, the girls were making invitations for everyone in town to come see them perform on stage.

"Thanks for the fun day, girls," Livi said. "That ice cream break was so delicious."

"No problem pal," Stephanie commented. "We just felt bad for you missing out on that type of stuff."

Livi replied, "well, that's what people these days get for having a dead end routine without barely getting a break."

Mia giggled before saying, "hey, you should be glad you got one."

"I guess," Livi said. "So, how are the posters coming?"

Emma answered, "just about finished."

The second they were, Tao held it up.

She then asked, "what do you think?"

"Wow," Livi said. "Come jam it fully to stop every bully. That's so perfect."

Tao thanked her.

Olivia commented, "we should wait 10 minutes for the posters to dry, then we can go print copies to hand across town."

Andrea commented, "cool with me. Check out the new song Livi and I were working on."

After the two girls sang a bit about sticking by the ones you love, Mia commented, "that is awesome."

"Yeah," Nicole replied. "How come we never heard it before?"

Livi answered, "Andrea and I needed some alone time to make sure it would be perfect."

The others understood. That was when the news returned on.

One of the news anchors came on and said, "well this was just reported in just minutes ago. We want to get you the full coverage live."

Emma's dad commented, "thanks bro. I'm standing here with Megan, ex-manager of musical superstar, Livi. Please tell us the story you want to share with us."

Megan asked, "well, you know how there's been a bunch of bullying going around Heartlake High?"

Emma's dad commented, "I think some residents of Heartlake City are aware of that. You found the bully responsible?"

Megan replied, "I'm the bully responsible. I kept sending messages about how Livi's nothing but a jerk nobody wants around. It was just to get revenge for when I got fired after taking a song Andrea wrote for one of Livi's concerts. One of the school kids, named Joseph, confronted me about it. It led to a whiplash of crazy jokes including one that went 'yo momma so fat they had to pull her over because the weight limit was 2 tons' or something like that. Either way, he got me at my own game. I just came to apologize for all the bullying I started, and for stealing that song. Thank you."

Emma's dad then said, "wow. Nobody likes a big bully. Do you think she learned her lesson? Reactions from around the world coming up at 6 and again at 10. Until then, back to the Heartlake city news studios."

None of the girls could believe she said that.

"Well," Stephanie said to Livi. "Looks like Joseph succeeded in the directions we gave him I assume."

Andrea commented, "yeah. That'll teach her never to steal songs from us or bully our friends again."

The others agreed. They then went to make copies of the posters.

Tao then said, "oh. I wish I could stay and help, but I need to get home. See ya girls."

The others waved goodbye as Tao made her way back to her house.


	9. Chapter 9 - Concert Time

It is now Friday with less than an hour before the concert gets jamming. There was a full house tonight.

Along with the citizens of Heartlake City, special guests in the audience included Sunset Shimmer, her pals, Penny Proud and her friends, Michelle Obama, Tom Bergeron, and Tara Strong. Backstage, the girls were dressing into stage outfits.

"I still can't believe this is happening," Livi said to the others. "I nearly thought my music career would be completely down the drain."

"Hey," Andrea said. "No matter what happens, you're going to have a great time."

Naomi came backstage. "Hey ladies," she said. "Sorry about what happened with Megan this week. She could be one big meanie."

"We know," Emma commented. "You got extra cupcakes for us?"

Naomi did. Everyone got one.

"Thanks Naomi," Stephanie said. "Hey Tao, you look great in that dress."

"Thanks," Tao said. "You girls look great yourself, especially you Naomi. I still can't believe you girls picked that for her."

Mia commented, "it goes great with the theme of why we're all here tonight. We are going to rock that crowd tonight. Plus, all the money raised will help bring some much needed therapeutic counseling to everyone in Heartlake City that needs it."

Later that evening, it dropped to only 15 minutes before the concert.

Tao said to the others, "okay guys. 15 minutes until show time. Despite having my guitar ready to go, I'm still a little nervous about this."

Naomi commented, "you and the others are going on stage together. Your support team have come too far to give up now."

The others were in total agreement.

Stephanie then said, "Livi and Andrea are gonna lead the first song we do." Tao thanked the girls for having her back.

Nicole said to them, "we'll always be here for you. We're always here for one another."

The girls were totally ready to hit the stage.

When it was time to hit the stage, the announcer said, "alright ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're ready for a jam to remember. Ready or not, here comes L2M!"

Everyone was cheering as L2M went on stage.

"Greetings everyone," Livi said. "Before we begin, we wanna thank you for coming tonight."

Andrea added, "we're gonna have loads of fun. We even have a new member of our band. Please welcome Tao Huang!"

The gang started off by turning a way to introduce themselves into a new song. After the song ended, the girls thanked everyone.

"So Tao," Stephanie said. "You play classic guitar right?"

"I do," Tao said. "This song is something my mom would sing to me when I was younger."

The song she sang was a slow jam that lasted nearly 2 and a third minutes.

When she finished, Tao commented "yeah; you're awesome! I love you for that!"

Mia then said to the audience, "don't go anywhere. We'll be back with more fun songs so stay tuned!"

The audience was cheering for more.

A few minutes later, Andrea commented "I can hear the crowd roaring out there."

"I know," Tao replied. "So, what song are we doing next?"

Stephanie answered, "it's one of our favorites."

Back on stage, Olivia said to the audience, "alright people! Here comes a fan favorite of ours."

The 7 of them performed their own hits, "Girlz" and "B-E-A-T".

"Now I see why they're two of your favorites," Tao said when they finished.

Andrea commented, "thanks. Now, I say let's slow it down a notch."

Mia added, "yeah. Okay everyone. Next up is a slow jam I'm sure you all remember."

Livi added, "Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson made their own versions to this. Feel free to sing along."

The girls got everyone singing along to "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5. When that song ended, the girls were thanking them for singing along.

"It's beautiful," Mia said.

The others were in total agreement.

After the concert ended, the girls were backstage one last time. They had just finished changing back into their normal clothes.

"Wow," Naomi said. "Just wow. I don't know what else to say."

Tao commented, "I don't have much to say either. There's no way I can believe how incredible that concert was."

None of the girls could believe it. The concert was a huge success. Everyone loved the music, not a single line from any of the songs played was messed up, and the girls accomplished their mission to raise money to bring some much needed counseling to Heartlake City.

"That was the best concert you ever performed," Nicole replied.

"I don't think I would've come up with anything like that on my own."

Andrea replied, "we did have a lot of fun."

Stephanie added, "brilliant idea letting everyone sing along to that Jackson 5 jam. Who knew jams like that can be so legendary?"

"You got that right," Livi said.

"So Livi," Olivia replied. "What'cha gonna do now that you're getting a break from your music career?"

Livi answered, "I wish I knew. For the first time in a while, I'm free to do whatever I want. Let's just hope it doesn't involve hurt feelings again."

The others were in total agreement. They all gave each other a high 5 to celebrate.


	10. Chapter 10 - Aftermath

The next day, Tao was at home with her mom and aunt. It was almost 1 o'clock in the afternoon when Tao was waking up from a nap she decided to take.

"My goodness," she said. "That nap was just what I needed."

Her mom, Tamyah Huang, and her Aunt Thanh both entered the living room.

"Had a nice nap honey?" Tamayah asked her daughter.

"You bet I did," Tao answered. "I actually slept quite nice for a change. I mean, for the first time since we first arrived, I feel great."

"Did that Nicole girl cheer you up?" Thanh asked.

"Not just Nicole," Tao answered.

"Oh yeah," Thanh replied. "We saw you at that concert. Pretty rocking."

"Thanks," Tao said. "Those girls, the members of L2M, helped me feel right at home. I still can't believe I actually have friends who don't try to leave my feelings down the drain."

"You must have some very special friends, then," Tamayah said to her.

"Very special," Thanh commented. "Your mom and I are very proud of you for it."

"Thanks," Tao replied.

The three of them hugged it out. "If only my sister was here to see this," Tao said. "She would have loved it as much as we are loving it."

"I know," Thanh said. "We all wish your sister was here. We'll reunite with her soon enough."

That was when Tao got a message on her phone.

"Hey," she said. "I better get going. Nicole's waiting."

Tao's mom and aunt let her go ahead. With that, Tao went out to catch up with Nicole.

Over at Olivia's house, the girls were hanging out in Olivia's room.

"So Livi," Stephanie said. "Are you happy to be getting a break from your music career?"

"So happy," Livi told her. "It's so good to get a break."

Emma just finished up a picture.

"Check out what I made," she said.

It was a picture of the 9 of them together on the beach.

"I love it," Stephanie said.

Nicole commented, "me too. Too bad there ain't one final thing for us to do together."

There was.

After whispering the idea into their ears, Naomi asked, "and it works?"

Livi told them, "the 6 of us did it."

Naomi, Tao and Nicole decided to give it a try.

Seconds later, Stephanie said to the viewers, "hey guys. Hope you enjoyed that little story."

Emma added, "we too find it hard to cope with bullying. It can be hard to find ways to cope with something you're against."

Mia then said, "for the record, me and my pals were against it longer."

Andrea commented, "we're all against it. Just listen to some of the mean comments people said about us."

After reading one message each, this is what they had to say about the mean messages.

Andrea said, "wow. You guys serious?

Mia said, "very funny, people".

Naomi said, "I would keep cool at first, but then think about quitting if it continued".

Stephanie said, "man, that would so break my heart".

Livi said, "that is just so uncool".

Emma said, "I'd take that back if I were you".

Olivia said, "that's such a lie. I love my pet robot".

Nicole said, "I'd be ready to leave town if that happens again".

Tao said, "wow. I guess that covers everything".

Emma then said to the viewers, "but seriously. Is any of this stuff really worth saying?"

Olivia then said, "think about how your friends and family would feel if they heard this stuff."

Stephanie added, "you'd then have to face a serious punishment. That's why you don't wanna mess with my mom."

"Or mine," Andrea said.

Livi then said, "and remember, the next time you're thinking of bullying your friends or anyone, just don't."

Naomi then said to the viewers, "you know. These girls are right. It does help talking to you."

The others nodded in agreement before waving goodbye.

The end.


End file.
